July 23, 2014 -- Bright and early this morning William “Bill” Carter II of Manchester made his usual stop at a local convenience store to put gas in his truck and to pick up some cold drinks for his cooler. He handed the clerk a $10 bill for the tank, and then scanned his Lotto® “Quick Pick” ticket for the July 22nd drawing in a nearby Ticket Checker.

“I almost hit the floor when the ticket checker said JACKPOT WINNER,” Carter told Lottery officials. “I was so excited, that I left the store without getting gas!”

The winning Lotto numbers on July 22, 2014 were 7-26-28-29-32-44. In total, 4,776 winning Lotto tickets were sold for that date with prizes ranging from $2 to $3,600,000.

The $3,600,000 jackpot, which rolled 43 consecutive draws until Carter’s winning match, marks the second time this year that a jackpot winning ticket was sold in Lotto, Connecticut’s longest running jackpot game.

Lotto’s jackpot is payable as a 21-year annuity or a one-time cash lump-sum. Shortly after driving to work and confirming with his boss that his ticket was indeed a winning one, Carter arrived at CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill to claim the jackpot’s cash lump-sum prize for $2,979,567 (before taxes).

When asked what plans he might have for such a life-changing lottery win, 51-year old Carter was quick to respond. “I’m going to buy a house and a new truck—my truck has 180,000 miles on it and four bald tires. Most importantly, I’m going to take care of my three kids and three grandchildren.”

A lottery retailer since 2004, Fas Mart #308, located at 506 Talcottville Road in Vernon, will receive a $10,000 bonus check from the CT Lottery for selling Carter his jackpot winning ticket.